St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-19
IDE JONES' BAR FIGHT.
Tackling Bar, Briars and Wind
fall All at Once.


fall All at Once.
81 only wish tint Capt. Ide Jones was
livin' jist now," said Uncle Able Par
mentere, from "way up the North
Branch" and one of the oldest raftmen
on the Susquehanna, to correspondent
of the Sun at Harrisburg. ''I'd jist like
to see him turn hisself loose in the
Pennsylvany Legislature fer a spell.
He wouldn't STAN the way they're
runnin' things not two minutes.
L think I'll go back to the
woods an turn up my toes myself.
gone an took the bounty often VOLTS an
cattymOuntS, an then made law that's
gointer 'boliSh tavernS eZ sure eZ steel.
traps! Pertectin' the varmints us OF
fellerS has been sixty year a tryin' to
clean out, an then Shuttin' off our rum!
I'll bet OF Gov'ner VOLTS am Hick'ry
Jackson's good OF Dimmycratic bones
is rattlin' in their graves like all pos
SeSSed!
Eyes, sir, if Ide Jones was livin' to-
day l wouldn't be this Legislature fer no
money. He was the coolest raf'man
that ever run the SiSkyhanner river, an
he was the toughest hunter th't ever
bored bullet holes in painters, an done
a big sheer tO'ardS depopulatin' the bar
family. It's good for this Legislature
th't he's dead, fer if he want that hain't
no doubt but what he'd come right
to Harr' Sburg an clean it out. I'll tell
We leetle bar story bout Ide, am then
We kin jedge wat sOr' of chance this
legiSlatur'd STAN with him.
''Ide'S big bar fight come off on Wash
| in'ton's birthday, 1896. Ide an his dog
Andy went out that day purpose for
bar. Tha had been big bIow-down o.
timber the fall afore in the neighbor-
hood O. Riar'S creek, Whar Idle lived,
an pOOty much the hull O. the woods in
the deeStric' had been tore up by the
roots an toSSted about permiSc'uS. Ide
and Andy struck in fer Riar'S creek,
an the fust thing they known'd they
rammed slam-bang ag'in a big windfall.
Tha WANT no way round it, an so Ide
says to Andy tn t they'd whale right on
through it; but the higher they got to
| t'Other side the further they seemed to
be away, the windfall was so uncommon
bad, an they were Citing poorly clus ON
to tuckered out fore they got the best
of it. AFTER they got the best o. the
down timber they struck another piece
O. luck right away, fer they
| found an acre or two o. the
| pootiest crop O. briers an bram-
| bles eZ ever crowd, ten foot high, an
twisted itself together like fish net
But tha' want no sech thing eZ humpin'
it back over that windfall, and so Ide
am Andy shet their eyes am pulled
ahead fer the open kentry. They had
navigated through the smilin' garden O.
| prickerS an StickerS fer nigh onto a
mile, wen, to add to the pleas
ure O. the sitiwatiOn, the dog
began to bristle up am growl. Then
Idle knOw'd th't tina was business to be
did somewhat tharaboutS, an th't the
business was bars, fer Andy never
wasted no time. in bristiin' up ner spent
his wind in growlin', unless tina was the
smell o. bar in the air, an the smell o.
bar never played around Andy's nose
without him adrawin' some on it in.
wall, bar it was, and no mistake.
fer jiSt ahead O. Idle and Andy, an not
more'n six foot away, riZ up one bar
bigger'n a :yearlin' calf, an another I'm
bout half ez big. Idle knowed by the way
the big bar glared an glOwled, am
CRASHED its teeth th't it were she un, an
that she had family O. new cubs tucked
away. in log or hole in the ground
Some'rs in adjacent parts, an th't she
had it in her head th't Ide an Andy was
picknickin' in that briar patch jist to
steal them cubs, an that she was thar
the matter q havins a hin lock
or back holt or stand-up
an knock down with a BAR or two was
a trifie th't Ida Jones was allus a han
kerin' arter, but the havin' of it mixed
up with down timber briar bushes, an
brambleS was a leetle too much of a
pleasant prospect, an Ida wished he
was back hum chawin' ginger nuts an
swiggin' cider. But thar he was. Thar
had to be fight or foot race. The
CO irse WANT laid out for much of a
1OOt-race, an so 1de concluded to stay
thar an tackle bar, briarS, an windfall,
an take the chances on some o. the
boys runnin' onter his bones in the
spring. LOOkin' round with a come
sinner cOme-an- w-the-ground-whar
you-must-surely-lie sort Of look, he
prepared to take his dose.
"'TwiXt the time th't the bars first
gladdened the eyes of Ide am Andy an
the time th't the OF she one busted
through the thick briars at 'em Want
more'n ten seconds, Idle didn't hey time
to even club his gun, wen the oil, bar
clapped her two paws on Ide'S two
shoulders, he hauled off an pasted her
a good un plumb in the eye, an the
fight was in. Andy tackled the little
bar an KEEP him from interferin' in the
muss, and, gettin him on the run, KEEP
him thar: lde ripped out his huntin''
snarlin' an snappin', chawin' an
clawin', an a rollin' an a plOwin',
while hair an meat am rage an dirt an
stone flew in the air till the sun was hid,
the bar an Ide cavorted around in that
rich bottom O. brambleS an logs for
more'n fifteen minutes, fust one on top
O. the heap an then t'Other. Then Ide
got mad. He found the top rib of OF
Mrs. Bar an slid his knife clean up to
the handle long side of it, an the bar
turned the soleS o. her feet tO'ardS the
firmyment on high, an her young uns
was orphans.
Eat O'Clock Oh the mornin' o. Feb.
%, 1926, one O. OF Jim Kinney's boys
was goin' down Riar's creek, 'long
path that Want much trampled in them
days, when Suddintly he seed Sumpin'
settin' in the path ahead o. him th't skeert
him crazy. The thing in the path had
the 'pearance o'havin' been man wunst,
but at that particular writin' it mowt
ha' ben took for hunk O. meat jist es-
capped from the SaSSage cutter. EZ soon
ez Kinney boy got his breath he went
hoWlln' back hum, an Sed he'd seen the
Spook O. chopped-up Injun. The
boys pop went down am found th't the
spOOk was wat was left O. Idle Jones.
He was carried to Kinney's cabin, an
three hours arterw'd he come to. The
spot whar he was found was two miles
from whar he'd had the fight with the
bar. He had drug hisself, his dog
follerin' an stayin' by him, all through
that down timber am cross the creek to
the path whar Kinney run ag'in
him. He had ben nearly all the day
afore, all night, an three hours o. the
next day a-makin' the trip, OWN partly
to the bad goin' an partly to the trifinl'
fact O. his left arm bein' broke, an to
his collar bone bein' snapped in
two twice, an to his jaw bein'
broke an to two ribs on ono cida ON,